First Merchants Corp Takes Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First Merchants Corp bought a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 57,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,892,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 55.1% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,956 shares of the company's stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,249 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,466,492 shares of the company's stock worth $495,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,939 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 102.7% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 525 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,841 shares of the company's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded AstraZeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.45. The company had a trading volume of 4,793,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,425,578. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.80. The company has a market capitalization of $209.12 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.965 per share. This represents a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is presently 100.52%.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.